Plantaricin IIA-1A5 from lactobacillus plantarum IIA-1A5 retards pathogenic bacteria in beef meatball stored at room temperature

This study aims to demonstrate the efficiency of antibacterial activity of plantaricin IIA-1A5 in meatball when stored at room temperature. The results revealed addition of plantaricin IIA-1A5 to meatball reduced population of contaminant pathogenic bacteria of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Furthermore, the application of 0.3% plantaricin IIA-1A5 extends the shelf life of the meatball to up to 20 h at room temperature based on its microbiology quality, as stated by the Indonesian National Standard for meatball products. The ability of plantaricin IIA-1A5 in retarding the growth of these pathogenic bacteria is comparable to that of 0.3% nitrite, which has been widely used. In addition, Aw and pH values of meatball in the absence (or in the presence) of nitrite or plantaricin did not significantly vary. This implies that reducing the population of pathogenic bacteria was indeed affected by nitrite or plantaricin IIA-1A5. Overall, this result demonstrated that the use of plantaricin IIA-1A5 as a nitrite replacer is promising. © 2016 K.W. Kia et al.